SEBI asked to speed up scam disclosure

NEW DELHI JUNE 27. The Joint Parliamentary Committee probing the stock market scam has directed the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to expedite reports on the role of corporate houses in the scam. The SEBI which has till date submitted reports with regard to just three companies — DSQ, Shonk Technologies and Padmini — was asked to submit reports of at least two more companies within the next 15 days, the JPC Chairman, Sri Prakash Mani Tripathi, told correspondents here today. The JPC, which had heard the Department of Company Affairs and SEBI during the last two days, has posed a series of questions to SEBI about the steps it plans for better regulation including suggestions for a broker identity card and inter-exchange surveillance. Mr Tripathi said the JPC members sought to know whether SEBI had any uniform rules for short-listing of companies in all stock exchanges, surveillance software, real-time surveillance, data base of stock brokers and to ensure that no unregistered brokers operate in the bourses. The JPC Chairman said while identity cards for brokers and brokerage firms was desirable, the committee would prefer that the cards be of high standards which keep pace with modernisation and liberalisa- tion. On the deposition of representatives of Department of Company Affairs, the JPC Chairman expressed dissatisfaction over the slow audit of companies. He said of the 27 companies suggested by the earlier JPC for audit, 23 still remained. He said while the audit was time consuming, in many cases, the procedure was so elaborate that it led to delay in action. He said ultimately the aim was that speedy investigation be carried out so that the erring firms could be dealt with accordingly.